


Things Happen (For A Reason)

by ecrituredelafangirl



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Break Up, Everyone else will probably come along eventually, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, I believe this is heading towards smut, I will change the tags as I progress, M/M, Reconciliation, Reconciliation Sex, and then probably some, eventually I believe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-24 18:39:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ecrituredelafangirl/pseuds/ecrituredelafangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"She just…she didn’t want kids. And he-he had <i>always</i> wanted kids."</p><p>Or, the story of how Combeferre and Éponine broke up... And then got back together. </p><p>(Or, how Éponine isn't the type to want to <i>make</i> babies, but she might just be the type to take care of them.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Happen (For A Reason)

So, this was it. This was the end. She didn’t even have it in her to cry – she just felt numb, down to her bones. There was nothing left. 

There had been a time when she thought that nothing would come between them – they were it, they were _forever_. But maybe that cynical friend of hers had been right. Such things didn’t fucking exist. Anyone who thought they did was a fool. 

She was a fool. Or she had been. Reality was a bitch. 

She just…she didn’t want kids. And he-he had _always_ wanted kids. And she appreciated the fact that everything about him would make him a good father, but it had never been one of things she found attractive about him. How smart and kind and _gentle_ he was – now that was a different story. She was in love with that – with those things, with how he displayed them, with how they made all of their interactions sweeter, kinder… She wasn’t used to it – the kind of life he had given her… And, at first, she didn’t even entirely _like_ it. But it had grown on her, bit by bit, until she found herself fucking _in love_. It had been like nothing she had ever felt before… And, at the moment, she felt like it was nothing she’d ever feel again. 

And she knew she could deal with this alone, and she even kind of wanted to… But she found herself on Grantaire’s doorstep anyway. Even with his promise that, should Combeferre ever do _anything_ to hurt her, he would rip the lungs from his body ringing in the back of her mind, Eponine ended up on Grantaire’s doorstep. Because heartbreak sucked like nothing in the world… And she knew, even if what he had wasn’t exactly _heartbreak_ , it was pretty fucking close. She didn’t want to be alone right now. 

To his credit, Grantaire didn’t say anything when he opened his door and saw her there. There was an expression of surprise, then a flinch – just a small one – when he registered the dead look on her face. Then he took her inside, sat her on the couch and proceeded to give her as much alcohol as she needed, all while watching fucking _Say Yes To The Dress_. And when she fell asleep (or, rather, passed out) on his shoulder, he held her. He even stayed pretty sober the entire fucking time. 

Eponine didn’t cry. Eponine didn’t have any reason to cry. She had fucking fantastic friends. Friends who gave up their daily drink until they dropped routine to take care of her. Even if she felt guilt wash over her when she woke up and realized his hands were shaking at her waist. 

She didn’t like feeling like this – like… _worthless_. Hell, it had been a long time too. She hadn’t been this miserable since she was following Marius _fucking_ Pontmercy around the shiny linoleum halls of their high school. That was before Les Amis. That was before Grantaire’s friends had saved her life. 

It was as though she were greeting misery as an old friend, she was so resigned. And Grantaire had never looked at her with fear before (well, maybe he had, but it had always been fear _of_ her not fear _for_ her), but now he was. With those damn blue eyes that sometimes haunted her dreams, he looked at her as though he was afraid all this sadness was going to make her disappear. 

She didn’t like it. 

In fact, she really fucking hated it. 

She tried to tell him that, and when he answered back, she didn’t even have it in her to argue. She didn’t have anything in her anymore, felt so drained she might die. When she walked out of his backdoor, Eponine thought that Grantaire looked terrified. She was probably right. 

And then thank God for Cosette, who was taking care of Gavroche that night, even though everyone knew that the kid could take care of himself. (None of them wanted him to _have_ to, was the thing. And he was opposed to it greatly, sneaking out at odd hours, just to wander around Paris in the dark. And Eponine trusted him – they were Thenardiers, they scared away muggers by _laughing_ at them – but she also knew that maybe he enjoyed coming home to a hot breakfast now and then. And she very well knew how fucking much the kid loved Cosette’s baking.) Cosette who, upon seeing Eponine’s face, took her into the apartment, the apartment she shared with Marius Pontmercy, and sat her on the couch and made her stay there until she felt better. 

It took nearly a month. 

Cosette wouldn’t hear a word about imposition. Cosette didn’t care. Cosette, instead, took care of her while sporting a look of fierce determination. 

She felt better. 

She wasn’t great, but she was better. And Cosette allowed her to go home. And home she went. 

Of course, she had been living with Combeferre for something like three months. _That_ was home. Grantaire’s spare room was not. But he wouldn’t hear of her staying anywhere else. 

When she finally did cry, they were both drunk out of their minds, his arms around her waist as Say Yes To The Dress played itself out in the background.

**Author's Note:**

> And Eponine was working whilst getting over her heartbreak, I mean, she was being active about it - not passively sitting on Cosette's couch all Bella Swan about her breakup. Eponine is the opposite of Bella Swan. Cosette just knew that she didn't really have anywhere else to go and wanted really badly for her to feel better, so she insisted Eponine stay, and she insisted that on taking care of her to any extent Eponine would allow. 
> 
> This is just a headcanon I have: Éponine not wanting kids and Combeferre wanting kids. It was troubling my shipping of them. So, naturally, I wanted to write it out - write it out in a way where Éponine stood by her beliefs and Combeferre stood by his. And, in the end they both end up with everything they ever wanted. 
> 
> You can tell this is going to have a happy ending, right? Because those are the only stories I'm capable of writing.


End file.
